Sometimes. It depends on where your money came from and who is trying to take it.

There is one important exception. If you owe money to the same bank that holds your account, that bank can usually just take the money to pay itself back.

But there is a limit to this. If what you owe is a credit card debt, the bank cannot just help itself to your money that way. It would have to sue you first, like any other creditor.

In West Virginia, you usually have to take action to protect your money. If you do nothing, the bank may freeze your money and hand it to the creditor. The bank may also charge you a fee for doing this.

This is the most important idea in this guide. Under federal law, some of your money is safe on its own. But for most of the money in your account, the protection does you no good until you claim it. If your account is frozen and you do nothing, the money will be handed to the creditor — even money the law says is protected.

Here is the difference:

• Safe on its own. Social Security, SSI, and VA benefits that were direct deposited in the last two months. The bank must protect this money for you.
• Safe only if you act. Almost everything else — older deposits of those federal benefits, state benefits like TANF and unemployment, and the small amount of savings West Virginia lets you protect. To keep this money, you must file exemption papers with the court.

The rest of this guide explains which is which — and how to claim the protection you have.

Federal law protects some federal benefits and other payments from the claims of judgment creditors. West Virginia state law also protects some money from these claims.

This article explains how to protect your money after a creditor sues you and wins. When a court decides you owe money, that decision is called a judgment. A creditor who has won a judgment is called a judgment creditor.

A few creditors can take your money even before they get a judgment. This can happen if you owe child support, or if you owe money to the state or federal government. Those cases follow different rules.

The creditor asks the court for an order. In West Virginia, this order is called a Writ of Execution or a Suggestion. The order goes to your bank. Then the bank freezes your account.

A freeze means you cannot use that money. This is true even for money that the law protects.

Many people find out the hard way. Your debit card is declined. A check bounces. Or you can’t withdraw cash.

A freeze is not the end. You have a short time to tell the court that some or all of the money is protected. But you must act fast. And it is your job to prove the money is protected.

Yes. The source of your money matters a lot. Here are the most common kinds:

• Wages you have already been paid. After a judgment, a creditor can take part of your paycheck before you even get it. This is called wage garnishment. The law limits how much can be taken from a paycheck. But that limit protects your paycheck, not your bank account. Once your pay lands in your account, it loses that special protection.
• Money from self-employment. If you work for yourself and no taxes are taken out, you are an independent contractor. This includes people who drive for Uber or Lyft, deliver for DoorDash or Walmart, or work as freelance writers, designers, or house cleaners. In West Virginia, the laws that protect a paycheck do not protect this kind of income. Once it is in your account, all of it is at risk.
• Government benefits. Many government benefits — like Social Security, SSI, VA benefits, unemployment, and TANF — stay protected even after they reach your account. But the rules are tricky. The next questions explain these rules.

Most federal and state benefits are fully protected from judgment creditors. Examples include:

• Social Security
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
• Unemployment benefits
• Workers’ compensation

A creditor cannot make the government send these payments to it instead of to you. And all of these benefits are protected. There is also no dollar limit on these protections. It does not matter how much you get. All of it can be protected from judgment creditors.

There is one big catch. The protection can be harder to use once the money is sitting in your bank account, mixed with other money. The next questions explain how to keep that protection.

Note: Some of these benefits can still be taken for special debts, like child support or money you owe the federal government.

Yes. Federal law gives automatic protection to some benefits in your bank account. When a bank gets an order to freeze your account, it must first look back over the last two months.

The bank must protect any Social Security, SSI, or VA benefits that were directly deposited in the previous two months. It must keep that money available to you. This is true even if you have other money in the account. The bank cannot freeze that amount or hand it to a judgment creditor.

You do not have to do anything to get this two-month protection. The bank must also send you a notice telling you what it did.

Example: You get $1,500 of Social Security by direct deposit each month. The bank must automatically protect $3,000. That is the last two months of payments.

Automatic protection only covers the last two months of certain federal benefits. Other protected money is not covered automatically. To protect it, you must act. Usually this means filing exemption papers with the court. Sometimes it means going to a hearing.

If you act, you can protect money that are:

• Social Security, SSI, or VA benefits deposited more than two months ago
• Other protected benefits, like TANF or unemployment
• Your wages or other income that West Virginia law lets you protect

Until the issue is settled, you may not be able to use this money. The bank may keep it frozen while you claim your protection.

Some states automatically protect a set amount of money in your bank account, no matter where it came from. West Virginia does not offer this automatic protection.

But West Virginia law does let you protect a set amount of money on deposit. It is about $1,100, whatever the source. But this protection is not automatic. You must claim it by filing exemption papers with the court. West Virginia also limits the total value of all personal property you can protect this way to $15,000.

TANF. If you get TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), West Virginia law protects it from creditors, but only if you take action by filing exemption papers with the court.

Unemployment. Unemployment benefits are also protected under West Virginia law, but you must file exemption papers with the court to protect these funds. Also, there is one important rule: the protection is strongest when you keep this money separate from other money. If you mix unemployment money with other money, it can be harder to protect. Some debts can always be collected from unemployment benefits. For example, child support and certain debts for basic needs.

Workers’ compensation. Workers’ comp benefits are protected too under West Virginia law.

Yes. One simple way to keep Social Security, SSI, or VA benefits safe is to have them loaded onto a Direct Express card. That is instead of sending them to a bank account. All the money on this card is automatically protected, no matter when you got it, or how much is on the card. You use the card like a debit card.

To sign up, call 1-800-333-1795 or visit www.USDirectExpress.com.

Tip: If some of your money is protected and some is not, think about opening two accounts. Put only protected money, like Social Security, into one account. That makes it much easier to prove everything in that account is safe. Spend the money in the unprotected account first.

There is no special card that protects state benefits automatically, the way the Direct Express card does for federal benefits. But the same simple habit helps a lot: keep your state benefits — like TANF and unemployment — separate from your other money.

For unemployment, this is more than good advice. Under West Virginia law, unemployment stays protected as long as you do not mix it with other money. Once it is mixed in with other funds, it can be harder to protect.

Three simple steps help:
● Keep protected money on its own. TANF comes on your Mountain State card, and unemployment can stay on its own state debit card or in a separate bank account. Keeping it apart makes it easy to show where it came from.
● Spend other money first. Use up money that is not protected before you touch your TANF or unemployment money.
● Be ready to claim it. State benefits like TANF and unemployment are not protected automatically. If your account is frozen, you must file exemption papers with the court to keep them.

If your bank account is frozen, act quickly. Here are the basic steps in West Virginia:

1. Read the notice. The court and your bank should send you papers. They explain the freeze and your right to claim that money is protected. Note any deadline. It is usually short.
2. Figure out what is protected. Look at where the money came from: Social Security, SSI, VA, TANF, unemployment, workers’ comp, or money covered by West Virginia’s exemptions.
3. Fill out the exemption papers. West Virginia uses a form called an Affidavit of Exemptions. On it, you list your money, say where it came from, and explain why it is protected. You sign it under oath.
4. File it with the court and tell the creditor. Get it to the court right away, before the deadline.
5. Gather proof. Bank statements and benefit award letters help show the money is protected. Remember, you must prove it.
6. Go to the hearing if there is one. The creditor may disagree, and a judge will decide. This is your chance to explain which money in your account is protected and should not be taken. Protected money includes federal benefits (such as Social Security, SSI, and VA benefits), state benefits (such as TANF, unemployment, and workers’ comp), plus about $1,100 of your money from any source.
7. Get help. You do not have to do this alone. Legal Aid of West Virginia may be able to help.

This guide is about money in your bank account. Taking money straight from your paycheck is a little different. It is called wage garnishment. Here are the basics:

• Federal and state law limit how much of your pay a creditor can take directly from your paycheck. For most debts, it is a set share of your take-home pay.
• Special rules apply to some creditors. The federal government can take part of your pay for federal debts, like some unpaid taxes, without going to court first. Similar rules apply to student loans owed to the U.S. Department of Education.
• Federal workers and members of the military have their own rules, with some extra protections.
• If a creditor takes too much, or takes pay it is not allowed to take, that may break the law. You may be able to get the money back. In some cases you may get more.

Legal Aid has more information in another article about wage garnishment.